Curtis and Chu Jazz Up Lunch With Books

Curtis Johnson's amazing tribute to Leon Chu Berry today was attended by 110 people! Surely one of the best programs we have ever offered. Certainly one of my personal favorites. Thank you Curtis and thanks to all who attended. There's nothing like jazz and Chu was a true jazz pioneer.

Feb 22: Share your Memories of Doc White

In celebration of Black History Month, the community is invited to Lunch With Books at the Ohio County Public Library on Tuesday, February 22 at noon to share memories of James “Doc” White, the Wheeling pharmacist whose tireless work and generosity changed the lives of countless people and made Wheeling a better place to live. In 1986, Doc was elected to the Wheeling Hall of Fame “in the area of public service on the basis of a lifetime of devotion to the betterment of his community and its citizenry.” Rev. Willie Nevels will provide introductory remarks and Ann Thomas will facilitate the discussion. Lunch With Books programs are free and open to the public. Patrons are invited to bring a bag lunch and free beverages are provided. Please call the library at 304-232-0244 for more information.

Next Tuesday: REMEMBERING CHU BERRY

In celebration of Black History Month, Wheeling’s own saxophonist Curtis Johnson, will celebrate, through words and music, the tragically brief life of the great tenor saxophonist Leon “Chu” Berry on Tuesday February 15 at noon at Lunch With Books at the Ohio County Public Library. Born in Wheeling in 1908, Chu Berry performed with Cab Calloway and Count Basie, among many other legends. Had he not died in a car accident at only 33, Berry might have become the most significant jazz saxophonist of the 20th century. In addition to teaching at West Liberty and WVU, Curtis Johnson has performed with the likes of Aretha Franklin, Wynton Marsalis, and Ray Charles. Lunch With Books programs are free and open to the public. Patrons are invited to bring a bag lunch and free beverages are provided. Please call the library at 304-232-0244 for more information.

Schedule Change

PLEASE NOTE: Due to a conflict, the appearance by Jaimy Gordon, author of the National Book Award winning novel Lord of Misrule originally scheduled for March 28, has been moved back one week to Monday, March 21 at noon.

For a nice overview of the program see this column by Linda Comins. But please keep in mind that the date is now MARCH 21 AT NOON.

Feb 8: Joe McCarthy's Wheeling Speech

On Feb 9, 1950, Wisconsin Senator Joseph McCarthy delivered a speech at the McLure Hotel during which he claimed to hold a list of known communists in the U.S. State Department. The speech grabbed national headlines and launched the era of paranoia and persecution now known as “McCarthyism.” On February 8 at noon Dr. Elizabeth Fones-Wolf, Chair of the department of history at West Virginia University (a U.S. Labor and Cold War History specialist), will talk about the significance of the speech and McCarthy’s rise and fall at Lunch With Books at the Ohio County Public Library. Lunch With Books programs are free and open to the public. Patrons are invited to bring a bag lunch and free beverages are provided. Please call the library at 304-232-0244 for more information.

Feb 1: The 13th Amendment in Wheeling

On February1 at noon, Lunch With Books at the Ohio County Public Library will host a celebration of National Freedom Day. Dr. Connie Rice, lecturer at WVU and member of the W.V. Sesquicentennial of the American Civil War Commission, will discuss the impact —in Wheeling and in the state —of the ratification of the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which abolished slavery. According to America’s Library.gov, National Freedom Day was created “to promote good feelings, harmony, and equal opportunity among all citizens and to remember that the United States is a nation dedicated to the ideal of freedom.” Lunch With Books programs are free and open to the public. Patrons are invited to bring a bag lunch and free beverages are provided. Please call the library at 304-232-0244 for more information.

January 25: BILLY SUNDAY COMES TO WHEELING!

Kate Quinn will be at Lunch With Books at the Ohio County Public Library on Tuesday, January 25 at noon to talk about the eccentric traveling preacher and baseball player Billy Sunday, who insisted that each town he visited build a "tabernacle" for his sermons. Wheeling complied, erecting a 6000 seat structure in just 4 days that would become the place to be seen in town. The Wheeling newspaper adored Sunday, awarding him daily front-page coverage. Lunch With Books programs are free and open to the public. Patrons are invited to bring a bag lunch and free beverages are provided. Please call the library at 304-232-0244 for more information.
Attendance: 72